NESCAC

[College Soccer Observer]

Stevens at Tufts:

Ref / Fouls 1st Half:
The ref(Jordan Cavaco) did ok 1st Half but he got bullied by the Tufts bench one time into giving a YC to Stevens #21 on an inadvertent trip on Tufts #2 Gerken. It was completely accidental and just a foul which is what he originally called but the balking of the bench influenced him as his hand went for the pocket 30 seconds later. #ridiculous

https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2021/11/17/state-police-trooper-arrested-domestic-violence/?p1=hp_featurestack

I don't think he will be reffing any of the games this weekend...

Just to correct the record. This is not the referee. There is no way that Center Ref was 27.

Unfortunately, it is the referee.

[d3commentr]

Stevens at Tufts:

Ref / Fouls 1st Half:
The ref(Jordan Cavaco) did ok 1st Half but he got bullied by the Tufts bench one time into giving a YC to Stevens #21 on an inadvertent trip on Tufts #2 Gerken. It was completely accidental and just a foul which is what he originally called but the balking of the bench influenced him as his hand went for the pocket 30 seconds later. #ridiculous

https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2021/11/17/state-police-trooper-arrested-domestic-violence/?p1=hp_featurestack

I don't think he will be reffing any of the games this weekend...

Just to correct the record. This is not the referee. There is no way that Center Ref was 27.

Then where you saw that the Center Ref was Cavaco (assuming Box Score) is incorrect because I know he is a State Trooper and age 27/28 from playing against him.

[blooter442]

Re lack of student supporters -- somewhat related, I remember being shocked after Tufts won the national championship in 2019, and checking Tufts' social media and seeing zero mention of this achievement.

(With the caveat that I could have missed a post; although I was looking for one at the time)

To be fair, there was plenty of press when they won in 2014, and in 2016 I remember a post-championship video of the hardware returning to Medford with a pretty decent student body reception. Interesting to note that Tufts as a school had won 0 NCAA team championships before 2010, when their men's lacrosse program beat perennial powerhouse Salisbury. Since then, the floodgates have opened to a degree: MSOC has 4, MLAX has 3, and a smattering of others — I want to say softball and field hockey but I am too lazy to check.

Anyway, I wouldn't go so far as to assume that the student body or greater Tufts community has become complacent with the recent deluge of success, but for a Tufts alumna/us of the last few years who has seen athletic success in a number of sports (I know the Tufts track program won a number of NESCAC titles during that stretch as well), they might not have known any different. Even the way the much-maligned commentators spoke as Woovin Shin walked up to the penalty spot to take the fifth kick, which would have sent Tufts through — and maybe they were just excited in the moment — they seemed to assume he would score, and I found that a little off-putting.

It will be interesting to see how they fare once this stacked senior class goes. Lauta is a monster goalkeeper and might be even better than Greenwood in the conversation for the best the program has seen when all is said and done, and that's not even mentioning Brady/Traynor/Shin/Campbell/etc., so they'll probably be fine. That said, no program has a divine right to success, and I remember being utterly convinced Tufts was destined for another title in 2017 only to be knocked out on a fluke goal (wasn't disappointed; just surprised). As a Tufts parent once remarked to me, you need luck to make it through three weekends of knockout games unscathed. Of course, you need to be in a position of strength to benefit from that luck, as they are, but sometimes you go to the well and it's dry.

A penny for Erich Kindermann's (Lauta's predecessor's) thoughts: the guy won the 2019 title and doesn't appear to be on the roster this year. Hey, I guess if you're going to go out (or someone else takes your spot), go out on top.

[maineman]

Oddly, U Rochester, a controversial pick for the NCAA tourney, that was eliminated in the first round by Calvin 4-0 played the teams both Amh and Midd will face next during the early part of the regular season. UR defeated Amh foe Cortland 1-0 and tied Midd foe John  Carroll 0-0.

[PaulNewman]

Oddly, U Rochester, a controversial pick for the NCAA tourney, that was eliminated in the first round by Calvin 4-0 played the teams both Amh and Midd will face next during the early part of the regular season. UR defeated Amh foe Cortland 1-0 and tied Midd foe John  Carroll 0-0.

I realize your point here probably wasn't to re-raise the UR bid issue, but since I joked about UR on another thread that got taken down a road I didn't intend, let me jump in to clarify my view on something.  Just because a team might not meet criteria (imo) for a bid or at best is highly questionable for getting one doesn't extrapolate to that team not being good or even formidable or capable of winning a couple of rounds in the tournament.  The joke is that year after year UR finds itself in the tournament, and often with a resume that could land either way.  Obviously a big part of UR often having a 9-5-3 or 8-4-5 kind of record is a reflection of being in the UAA gauntlet and having a high SoS.  At any rate, I'm just underscoring that there is a difference between who best met the criteria versus who might be competitive.  We can disagree about the first, just like a handful of years ago John Carroll was something like 17-3-1 and didn't get a bid.  There was no question that JCU could have been competitive and I don't recall off the top of my head if the "snub" was mostly about SoS or something else.  I think the system as used is fair as constructed, and I don't think there are any secret, dirty shenanigans, but the process can yield outcomes where sometimes seemingly "deserving" teams get left out (based on the criteria as constructed) and sometimes perhaps questionably deserving teams get in (based on the criteria as constructed).  And sometimes it's a seemingly fluky (don't read deceptive or wrong) factor that makes a difference...like a Wabash sneaking into the regional rankings the last week and thereby giving a team like Kenyon 4 ranked wins instead of 2.  Was Kenyon any better or worse based on whether they did or did not get those two extra "ranked" wins?  Of course not, but those things can determine whether a team gets a bid or doesn't.  There are legit quibbles about the process, like West region teams not having the same opportunities regarding S0S but still being subject to that standard with no corrective mechanism, how a team finished the season, not making your own conference tourney, etc....but the process already has a number of factors to consider and one can fairly question whether adding more is feasible or even advisable. That said, for those new to this, and even for many of us not new, what goes down can seem counter-intuitive or "unfair."  A steep learning curve on this stuff is the norm, not the exception.

[maineman]

Oddly, U Rochester, a controversial pick for the NCAA tourney, that was eliminated in the first round by Calvin 4-0 played the teams both Amh and Midd will face next during the early part of the regular season. UR defeated Amh foe Cortland 1-0 and tied Midd foe John  Carroll 0-0.

I realize your point here probably wasn't to re-raise the UR bid issue, but since I joked about UR on another thread that got taken down a road I didn't intend, let me jump in to clarify my view on something.  Just because a team might not meet criteria (imo) for a bid or at best is highly questionable for getting one doesn't extrapolate to that team not being good or even formidable or capable of winning a couple of rounds in the tournament.  The joke is that year after year UR finds itself in the tournament, and often with a resume that could land either way.  Obviously a big part of UR often having a 9-5-3 or 8-4-5 kind of record is a reflection of being in the UAA gauntlet and having a high SoS.  At any rate, I'm just underscoring that there is a difference between who best met the criteria versus who might be competitive.  We can disagree about the first, just like a handful of years ago John Carroll was something like 17-3-1 and didn't get a bid.  There was no question that JCU could have been competitive and I don't recall off the top of my head if the "snub" was mostly about SoS or something else.  I think the system as used is fair as constructed, and I don't think there are any secret, dirty shenanigans, but the process can yield outcomes where sometimes seemingly "deserving" teams get left out (based on the criteria as constructed) and sometimes perhaps questionably deserving teams get in (based on the criteria as constructed).  And sometimes it's a seemingly fluky (don't read deceptive or wrong) factor that makes a difference...like a Wabash sneaking into the regional rankings the last week and thereby giving a team like Kenyon 4 ranked wins instead of 2.  Was Kenyon any better or worse based on whether they did or did not get those two extra "ranked" wins?  Of course not, but those things can determine whether a team gets a bid or doesn't.  There are legit quibbles about the process, like West region teams not having the same opportunities regarding S0S but still being subject to that standard with no corrective mechanism, how a team finished the season, not making your own conference tourney, etc....but the process already has a number of factors to consider and one can fairly question whether adding more is feasible or even advisable. That said, for those new to this, and even for many of us not new, what goes down can seem counter-intuitive or "unfair."  A steep learning curve on this stuff is the norm, not the exception.

I was only mentioning them as comparative scores since neither Amh or Midd have common opponents with their upcoming foes.  I like both of their chances.

[Buck O.]

I remember being utterly convinced Tufts was destined for another title in 2017 only to be knocked out on a fluke goal (wasn't disappointed; just surprised).

Yes, as I recall, you weren't too disappointed!

[Mr.Right]

Amherst at Babson:

Amherst Backup GK Poop Pregame:
Backup GK's punting to each other in Babson's end. They are backup's for a reason so go have the stones to tell them to get off your yard.

Amherst Protest Against Racial Injustice and Police Brutality:
Senior #6 Sean Dube.
I am all for it. Hey get everything in while you can before a Jan 6th type(HBO Documentary is unreal) Fascist takeover in 22' and 24'.

Amherst Starters:
GK #00 Hope-Gund, LB #33 Gittler, LCB #12 Wu, RCB #7 Kelly, RB #5 Johnson. Two holding were #3 ten Cate and #22 Clark-Eden. ten Cate became more adventurous going forward as the Half wore on. #8 Shahmirzadi and #16 Derby were Central with Derby sitting behind the two strikers #23 Okorogheye and #9 Giammattei.

Amherst Bench:
#13 Niall Murphy for Derby 20'.

Amherst Goal#1:                "I need me a GK with guts"
A minute into the game a Babson Goal Kick sails to midfield and offered up as a 50/50 Header between Shahmirzadi and Babson #19. Amherst's 5'10 little engine that could won the ball. The ball ends up on LB Gittler's hoof and he tries to play a nice ball to striker Okorogheye's feet but Babson RB #24 read it well and intercepted it. However, the Babson RB's touch was extremely heavy and Amherst Shahmirzadi arrives just in time to not tackle him and just stick his foot in. The non tackle does bother the ball though as it rolls to the the foot of Babson's skilled midfielder #10 at midfield. Babson's #10 has maybe 2 seconds on the ball before Amherst #3 ten Cate comes roaring in with a ferocious slide tackle. The ball now is on a third Babson players foot as #5 has maybe 3 seconds on the ball before Shahmirzadi is on him like glue. This time Shahmirzadi tackles well and drives the ball forward to #9 Giammattei. Giammattei makes a fantastic fake and lets the ball roll to him along with three Babson defenders. Now we are in Babson's defensive 3rd and Amherst #9 has the ball at his feet. The three Babson defenders give #9 way too much respect with full freedom of his right foot to work with. He gets by one of the defenders easily and finds room to rip a right footed blast on net just inside the 18. The shot is low and takes one hop but is within reach for the Babson GK to make a save on. The GK saved it but did not smother it and is now in a foot race with Amherst #16 Derby for the ball at the back post. Derby was closest to the ball and he gets there in plenty of time to blast a shot directly on goal but on a tight angle and right at the Babson GK. Instead of getting big and taking it on the chin the GK turns his back in fear and the ball is in the back of the net. GK disaster #1 as I would have sacked him right there 2 minutes in to make a point.


Amherst Goal #2:                  "I need me a GK that can kick"
Four minutes before Halftime the Babson GK takes a harmless Goalkick. He has his second disaster of the Half with a "slip and kick" right to Amherst striker #23 Okorogheye. The Amherst striker beats one defender and rips it into the net. A devastating goal that just cannot happen if your team wants to advance past such a strong Amherst side.

Amherst Goal #3:                      "GK Blues and a #9 Bike"
#5 Bryce Johnson a long throw in Babson's defensive 3rd deep to the back post. Babson GK punches it but not far enough as it drops right to Amherst #9 Giammattei who skillfully "bikes" it across the box to a wide open #16 Derby right on the six. Derby leaps high to get a free header but the GK is there to make the catch and the save. Oh wait no sorry the GK decides not to catch the ball but to "slap at it" like swatting a fly and slaps it right to Amherst #3 ten Cate. The gamer is in the right place and taps it home to finish this baby off.

1st Half Notes:
-This was actually a pretty entertaining Half with a wide open frenetic up and down type of game. Babson actually played pretty well box to box against Amherst. Their GK and lack of finishing absolutely killed them. Babson was not afraid to play some futbol especially in the back while Amherst pressed with 4. The problem was when they crossed midfield Amherst was just more physical on the ball and hounding the Beavers pretty hard. Every 50/50 ball Amherst owned. While Babson was an athletic team and were playing Amherst straight up on their field I thought Amherst played just a bit better and was the aggressor on the day. Amherst #3 ten Cate absolutely owned one of Babson's more skilled Central Midfielders #10 Collins. He was all over him and allowed him nothing in the run of play. This did free up Babson #11 Kalishman as he was causing Amherst some problems off the dribble but Collins was the true threat on set pieces as he had some real dangerous hits on any free kick he was given. Amherst gave him plenty of opportunities as they love conceding bad fouls in dangerous areas with about four stupid and unnecessary fouls in their own defensive 3rd. Amherst GK Hope-Gund made two unreal saves on Collins but also coughed up 2-3 of them and left some juicy rebounds that Babson could not convert. If I am Cortland State watching that I have got to test Hope-Gund this weekend and then have 3-4 players following up hard for cough ups. I thought #5 Bryce Johnson had a good game and has really improved as a player. His speed, competitiveness and long throw will be missed in 2022. The whole Amherst backline will be gone to graduation and they along with ten Cate have been a big reason as to why Hope-Gund has not allowed a Goal in over a month. Amherst had about seven legitimate scoring opportunities in the Half as Babson was giving Amherst to much time on the ball in their defensive half. ten Cate had about 3-4 real good looks off his noggin from set pieces as he is a real threat to score with his head and needs to be marked tight. His lack of pace can be taken advantage of in the run of play but I have not seen too many players willing to do so. Okorogheye and Giammattei had a Goal each and had more chances to score throughout the Half. I thought possession was pretty even between the teams but Amherst converted their chances and Babson did not.

2nd Half Notes:

Babson did not look like they were going to be able to break down Amherst and score 3 goals. This was my cue to find Cortland State video.

For Babson they can now look forward to their 2022 season as the recruiting has really improved and Babson could get even better depending on who they have coming back from their listed Seniors.

Also do not sleep on their successful Men's Hockey program who got robbed of a 2020 NCAA game v Wesleyan that was scratched only 2 days before the puck was supposed to drop due to Covid. Can you imagine working all year to get to the NCAA's in Men's Hockey which is one of the more challenging things to do because of the limited field and having your season just cut right from underneath you. Wesleyan won the 2020 Nescac Tournament and was looking real good heading into that game. It would be like the Men's Soccer season ending RIGHT NOW. It was a pretty harsh ending for those teams. Moving On.............

[Mr.Right]

NCAA Elite 8:

Midd at Amherst 1pm ET
Conn at Tufts     3pm ET

Short Saturday Recaps:

I do not think an opponent has given Amherst a game since their Nescac QF ouster to Colby 3 weeks ago. Colby had a legit game plan and the players to carry it out which is more than I can say for Cortland. This was the first time I had seen Cortland and they have turned into a team that likes to possess. Credit to the Coaching staff for that. However, they are the ones to blame for that embarrassment. Not sure what they were watching when they scouted Amherst but the one thing not to do is play 10 foot square passes in your back half. Had they come out in a defensive 4-2-3-1 they had the athletes to bunker in and counter. That was the only way they could play that game and advance. They were too slow with the ball at their feet to possess against Amherst and the whole thing broke down from there. Amherst second goal came from Cortland's GK playing a 10 yard Goal Kick on the grass right to a player in the middle of the field that Derby is on in 3 seconds and tackles then a ball to #9 who does the rest. The Cortland players also could have given more of a fight as that was really not a good showing. I nodded off on my laptop in the 60th minute and I blame Cortland for that as it really takes a lot for me to nod. #9 with a Hat Trick to get his total goals in double digits which is where it should be. He had not scored in over a month and had missed a PK in that Nescac QF to Colby. The Cortland GK must have seen that miss because he guessed right but #9 went the other way. Pretty weak PK call as that has not been called all season. 4-1 Amherst and most starters got a real good rest including the backline as they had very little to battle against.

It was Midd 2-1 over JCU in a more competitive game. JCU was not afraid to throw their bodies around and got a late goal in the 1st Half off a free kick and fantastic finish by Midd's RB Hank Nelson. It was 1-0 JCU at Halftime. However, they just could not match Middlebury's depth as JCU got gassed by the 70th minute and Midd was all over them 2nd Half. Nelson got sacked for that own goal at Halftime and his replacement at RB Aiden Pape got the GW'ing Goal in the 70th minute. Quick counter down the wing to Saint Louis and Pape with a great back post run that JCU failed to mark and he had a free header on the back post. Nelson was needed and called on in the final 10 minutes defensively. He was running free in front of the back 4 so his confidence should be fine for today. 2-1 Midd Final. Funniest moment was when Midd had a 2v1 in the 2nd Half with their striker Reid with the ball at his feet. The Frosh Farrell is literally wide open at the 18 and Reid definitely sees him but keeps it for himself and rips it just wide. Farrell was in disbelief that he was not played. #SelfishStrikers. Love it.....

Tufts slid by Washington College on a ridiculous GW'ing Goal. That GK should be walking home. I cannot tell you how frustrating that is for field players. Field players do not bother with GK'ers figuring they do what they do and who am I to tell them how to play. Just do not let in SOFT GOALS but if you do expect to hear about it. A key part of Cano's Goal was the flick that Traynor had to get the ball deep into Tufts attacking 3rd. WC had a good game plan and were working hard all game with a great finish by their Senior Striker #9 Greg Adams to knot the game 1-1 five minutes after Tufts #3 Ian Daly's Goal. Tufts is playing with 3 Central defenders #22 Welsh, #16 Paoletta and #25 Clivio. Then they had #3 Daly at RB and #26 Campbell at LB. 1st Half Tufts was in a 5-3-2 which is just blatantly conservative but then it morphed into a much more attacking 3-5-2. Much better atmosphere from the Bos' fans but they will need them again today because Conn is travelling with some serious supporters which is fantastic to see.

Conn gets by Redlands 1-0 with a GW'er from LB #6 Horvath Diano in the 89th minute. Jaran gets a mean ball into the box and all Horvath Diano had to do was connect with it and the game was finito. Redlands was another good team that just did not have the depth and the legs to play a full 90. 1st Half they were not only in the game but causing some problems for Conn. But in a replica of the NYU game as the half wore on Conn just dominated the ball and just kept coming and coming at Redlands. Wave after wave. Eventually Redlands broke although not before having a golden opportunity on goal midway thru the 2nd Half that the Redlands striker rushed and hit over the net. Conn brought a serious contingent of loyal Camel supporters and friends of the program that have been there all year long. Can the Camel players give them one more victory?


Next let's look at the matchups for today.....

[Mr.Right]

Midd at Amherst:

What exactly are we getting into here? Does Amherst start the game like most others? Will they come out pumped up, pressing and running hard? "Chaos" futbol that has worked for them in past years to get early goals against unsuspecting teams. Thereby burying them before anyone knows what is going on. Recent examples would be St.Joe's in 2018 and RPI 2019. But Midd knows exactly what the hell is going on. You get thru the first 10-15 minuto burst and Amherst backs off to save energy. Maybe I have this all wrong and Midd will be the team on the front foot working the ball vertically and pressing while running hard trying to find that key first goal. That is how they have been playing since this tournament has started. They showed yesterday absolutely no panic in going behind on a crazy 1st Half finish. That would have buried most teams mentally but Midd came out and dominated the 2nd half and were fully confident they would win that game. It is then most likely BOTH teams come out all jacked up, everyone is pressed hard, giveaway galore fest, early YC's, guys getting frustrated which then leads to a physical bloodbath? Ehh maybe five years ago but the league is quickly changing and we are not just getting athletes into this league anymore. More and more teams are finding skill from top to bottom with athleticism. Every team in this league has improved technically. Maybe that is saying more about today's player but I think the league is attracting more talent. Right the game. Also possible we see both teams being super cautious and conservative with two players holding and only attacking with 4. It will probably be a mishmash of all of the above.

Are both HC's going to tinker to their lineups? My gut says Yes. Both teams have been starting a consistent core but in these games matchups become critical. Who will Midd have as a starting RB? Pape has been proving his worth but is Nelson a better 1v1 defender? That becomes important especially with what Amherst is bringing in attack. I actually thought Nelson did well roaming in front of the back 4 to finish off yesterday's match. Does this mean he is used today as a holder? Not sure but I know both players will be needed to contribute. #19 Casey Lund has been playing well at LB especially coming forward but he will be busy with Amherst RB #5 Bryce Johnson. Johnson has been roaming forward more and more lately and if Amherst is in a 4-4-2 with their 4 midfielders Central then Johnson will have plenty of space out wide to maneuver with his feet which will lead to more lethal long throws. Of course do not sleep on left back #33 Gabe Gitler as he will get forward as well. Centrally I am almost sure we will see Amherst continue to use #22 Clark-Eden and #3 ten Cate sitting in front or RCB #7 Kelly and LCB #12 Wu. Middlebury has dangerous Central midfielders that have skill that need to be closely monitored and also Clark-Eden and ten Cate will be needed to help double Reid, Saint Louis and Barry. How Midd CB's #15 McFarlane and #32 O'Brien effectively deal with Amherst dangerous strikers and attacking midfielders will be key. They have been playing very well of late in front of GK #33 Ryan Grady. Who will HC Elias settle on in Central Midfield will be interesting. #30 Shane Farrell has been the most active and dangerous in attack. #26 Payne had a great fake off of the JCU defensive clear right before the ball ended up on #12 Ben Powers feet who found #23 Saint Louis for the rip. #21 Andrew Juarez has been hot and cold. Against F&M he showed real well but yesterday was slow to react and not ready to play which led to him quickly being replaced by Payne. That is what is so great because there is so much talent it is almost a competition within the midfield core to get on the field. Not ready to go on a certain day then you will be replaced with someone who is. They are obviously all good players but only so many minutes to go around. This is a total Coin flip game with some surprises throughout the game that even regular watchers of these teams will not be expecting. Amherst the Home Field comfort edge on grass. Amherst 2-1.

[Mr.Right]

Conn at Tufts:

These two teams know each other real well. Conn winning 2-0 in the Regular Season at Home. Tufts winning the Nescac Championship on Conn's field 2-0. See Tufts Won the Nescac Tournament with younger guys. It was unnecessary to play "the talent" for this little Nescac rag because we have other things to be doing. Tufts Head Coach Kyle Dezotell "We believed we had enough quality and enough talent with the players that we had available. We had amazing performances from some freshmen and some sophomores, some of them who haven't played very much this year, and they played a ton of minutes in the NESCAC Tournament. So just really proud of the younger guys, but also of the culture within the team to be able to have the confidence in those guys to step in and perform in the tournament for what we think is the best conference in the country." Yea ok the reference to the very best conference yada yada but see they thought after getting soundly beat by Conn in the Regular Season they would not take the rematch very seriously and play the younger guys. Well I guess then today is when "the talent" shows up. One I really think Jumbo fans will not recognize a game where Conn will dominate the ball and possession. I am not sure they have seen that yet but I am fully expecting that if Tufts does not come out and play in that 3-5-2 and stay aggressive. Really show that yes Tufts wants the ball as well. Press hard and be hounding these Camels all over the field. Just like they were going to do at Conn in Game 1 but Conn started hitting balls over the top to keep Tufts honest. This tournament Tufts has been using these 3 Central Defenders and that is great when everyone is pushing forward in that 3-5-2. When they have wingbacks on the defensive it looks very 5-3-2 ish and enough with a little heat to put Grandma "lights out" in ten minutes if she happens to be watching. Of course it will come down to what Conn actually wants to do with that damn ball. I do not think they will have nearly the amount of time on the ball that Redlands allowed. Unless we get Tufts on the back foot willing to shift left , right, back, up, right, left, 5-3-2 and Conn insisting on breaking down 11 players. If Conn can bust upfield and break a possible Tufts press or if Tufts is not pressing then just on the counter then Conn is going to get the chances they will absolutely need to get a Goal. I think one goal is enough in this game. Tufts will allow no more in such a defensive shell.

Matchups....

[Mr.Right]

Of course this is also a rematch of the 2019 Elite 8 where the ultra talented Jumbos took advantage of lineup changes and sleeping at wheels and dusted Conn off the field 3-1. Maybe Tufts does not even remember this game as it got racked up with the rest of them. Conn should remember it because of the said dusting. Conn started to gamble yesterday by sneaking the skilled winger Frosh #7 Dylan Zane at LB when they were confident enough that their two CB's could deal with anything Redlands had attacking. Is that confidence still there today? Can Conn HC Burk quick hook a CB in the 83rd minute to get more attacking against Tufts? Sure a talented Soph #5 Cerezo went in but it is the 83rd minute and the kid had not played yet so was still cold. Maybe these subs are not a big deal and Conn has Won with these younger guys all year and everyone trusts everyone else. Certainly #25 Steve Yeonas with the guts to go full animal and shave the head is a good sign. That is commitment as it takes 6 months to re grow that and Soccer players would not be known to be first in line to be doing full team shave offs. Colorings / Streaks Yes, Shave Offs NO.

[Mr.Right]

 Strikers and Wingers will be held in check today. Yes I know #11 Cano will be out wide going at RB #30 Doyle. Which I think is the reason Doyle has supplanted #4 Mendo is because of 1v1 D. Mendo is plenty good off the bench for runs late in the Half when Tufts wingbacks are winded in attack but Doyle will need to prove his 1v1 D if Cano is wide which is where I expect him late in the game if it is level or Tufts needs a Goal. Which of these two Central midfields wins out? Central Midfield battle will be #5 Aroh, #6 Enge and #13 TVB against #14 Djerdjaj, #8 Jaran and #16 Lobo. This will decide the game.We know that when #9 Tshuma goes out Djerdjaj will push up and #18 Marvel comes in. Tufts will use #14 Ingersoll to replace Enge and #8 Shin to replace TVB. Can TVB and / or Shin not get bothered by Lobo and other stabs at the ball to help Tufts push some chances in the later minutes of the 2nd Half. Can Tufts get something from the injured guys coming back in attack? #9 Jacobs and #10 Seigelstein both have been playing up top or even out wide. Conn's backline has been playing very well on defense and the wingbacks in attack but still they do make me nervy sometimes playing to #00 Maidenberg in the back. Why risk this crap? But it is their style and they own that brand in Nescac. No other team uses their GK quite like Conn and they have absolutely no fear. Will Lauta need to make a save when it matters? Maybe. Maidenberg made one yesterday coming out of his net 2nd Half to smother a ball that the Redlands kid looked to be in on. Good confident Save. Tufts Home Turf field will give them the advantage. An early Goal will change tactics for both sides and maybe could open the game up which would be great for the neutral. Conn will sometimes change systems more than twice during a game if they go down. The Young HC likes pushing different buttons and I like that. But in the Salem State game none of these changes mattered unless they changed how aggressive they were in attack. That worked against NYU and last night. Can Conn knock the Champion of hits high horse? Yes. Conn 1-0

[SimpleCoach]

Strikers and Wingers will be held in check today. Yes I know #11 Cano will be out wide going at RB #30 Doyle. Which I think is the reason Doyle has supplanted #4 Mendo is because of 1v1 D. Mendo is plenty good off the bench for runs late in the Half when Tufts wingbacks are winded in attack but Doyle will need to prove his 1v1 D if Cano is wide which is where I expect him late in the game if it is level or Tufts needs a Goal. Which of these two Central midfields wins out? Central Midfield battle will be #5 Aroh, #6 Enge and #13 TVB against #14 Djerdjaj, #8 Jaran and #16 Lobo. This will decide the game.We know that when #9 Tshuma goes out Djerdjaj will push up and #18 Marvel comes in. Tufts will use #14 Ingersoll to replace Enge and #8 Shin to replace TVB. Can TVB and / or Shin not get bothered by Lobo and other stabs at the ball to help Tufts push some chances in the later minutes of the 2nd Half. Can Tufts get something from the injured guys coming back in attack? #9 Jacobs and #10 Seigelstein both have been playing up top or even out wide. Conn's backline has been playing very well on defense and the wingbacks in attack but still they do make me nervy sometimes playing to #00 Maidenberg in the back. Why risk this crap? But it is their style and they own that brand in Nescac. No other team uses their GK quite like Conn and they have absolutely no fear. Will Lauta need to make a save when it matters? Maybe. Maidenberg made one yesterday coming out of his net 2nd Half to smother a ball that the Redlands kid looked to be in on. Good confident Save. Tufts Home Turf field will give them the advantage. An early Goal will change tactics for both sides and maybe could open the game up which would be great for the neutral. Conn will sometimes change systems more than twice during a game if they go down. The Young HC likes pushing different buttons and I like that. But in the Salem State game none of these changes mattered unless they changed how aggressive they were in attack. That worked against NYU and last night. Can Conn knock the Champion of hits high horse? Yes. Conn 1-0

I've long held that I thought to beat Tufts is to minimize their effectiveness 35 yards and in.  That means numbers, neutralizing wingers.  Getting caught in transition is where Tufts really thrives.  See the  game winner yesterday.  Don't think they are as solid defensively.  You still need to be real good with the ball obviously, which I think Conn is.

Think this will be a coaches game.  Which one better prepares for the tactical battle that this can come down to .... and ultimately, how lucky which side can be in front of goal.

[blooter442]

Think this will be a coaches game.  Which one better prepares for the tactical battle that this can come down to .... and ultimately, how lucky which side can be in front of goal.

Interesting to think that the actual match turned into a basketball game. I figured it would be a slow burner, so didn't think anything of missing the first half. When I got home and it was 2-2 at halftime, I was quite surprised. Watching it all back, I think that the tying goal right before halftime was the momentum swinger; an argument could be made for 3-2, but ultimately I think if Conn. goes in down 2-1 Tufts probably sees it out. Conn's go-ahead goal was a banger that you can't really legislate for but then I think Tufts got a bit desperate and threw the kitchen sink and before they knew it was 4-2 (and then 5). To bring it back to 5-4 with 20 minutes remaining, and particularly given Tufts' superior pedigree, I think a lot of us thought 5-5 was on the cards. Either way, if they had perhaps regrouped at 3-2 and get back to 3-3 I still think they have the momentum. Perhaps they panicked a bit and went for the jugular too early (hindsight is 20/20).

Still, the Camels deserved a lot of credit for not buckling after going behind in the first half (twice) and conceding twice in two minutes to bring a three-goal lead back to one. It's often said that a two-goal lead is the most dangerous in soccer, but I think that's down to probability above all else — if you are three ahead and then concede twice, I have to think that's a momentum shifter, even if (statistically) less likely to result in the equalizer. Either way, I said in the other forum that I questioned if Conn. had the mentality to beat Tufts when it mattered after winning in the regular season and losing at home in the NESCAC final — which was only exacerbated when they lost a two-goal lead inside 120 seconds — but Maidenberg came up with a big save and the Camels kept their heads from there. Certainly the best attacking Elite 8 match I've ever seen.